Austin v. Board of Civil Service Commissioners

[437]

DRAPEAU, J. pro tem.

The city of Los Angeles, under a power contained in its city charter, owns and operates an electrical distributing system. The city charter also provides that employees of the city, carrying on this enterprise, are entitled to the benefits of a civil service system.

In 1937 a public utility owned by Los Angeles Gas and Electric Company was acquired by the city. Anticipating the acquirement of this, and possibly other utilities, and in order to fix the status of employees thereof who would thereby become employees of the city, the city charter was amended in 1935 by adding section 431, reading as follows: “See. 431. All persons employed in the operating service of any public utility hereafter acquired by the city, or any department thereof, at, and for at least one year immediately prior to, the date of such acquisition, may be retained and employed by the city, or such department, in their respective positions, as nearly as may be, and, so long as continuously so retained and employed in such positions, shall be exempt from the civil service provisions of this charter; provided, however, that no person not a citizen of the United States, shall be so retained and employed and that persons so retained and employed shall, within three months after such acquisition, conform to any residence requirements applicable to employees of said city, or department, in like positions.” (Stats. 1935, p. 2356.)

Upon the acquirement of the Los Angeles Gas and Electric Company property and in accordance with the above charter provision, a number of employees of the public utility became employees of the city. At the same time, and since then, there were and have been employed in the operation of the municipally owned system a number of civil service employees. For the purpose of distinction, we will hereafter refer to these two classes of employees as “public utility employees” and “civil service employees.”

December 10, 1937, certain civil service employees were suspended for lack of work by the city. The city through its department of water and power, is empowered to determine the existence of a lack of work, and to suspend employees for that reason. In the event this is done, the board of civil service commissioners of the city determines whether such suspension violates any civil service rights of the suspended employee. The charter provides such determination shall be “final and conclusive.” It is conceded that at the time there was in fact a lack of work which required the city